1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to microtomes, more specifically to a sliding blade microtome.
2. Description of the Related Art
Much modern scientific research involves microscopic analysis. Much of today's microscopic analysis requires tissues to be prepared by devices that provide thin specimens, such as microtomes. Many microtomes are specifically designed for preparing specimen for certain types of microscopes. For instance, rotary microtomes cut thin sections of specimen for light microscopy and ultramicrotomes are used to prepare ultrathin sections for light and electron microscopy. Live tissues, such as brain or liver tissues, are prepared by oscillating or vibrating blade microtomes called vibratomes. Vibratomes are currently employed in biomedical studies such as electrophysiology recording, organotypic tissue culture and immunohistochemistry experiments. Though vibratomes have advanced the study of live and fresh tissues, there are disadvantages, such as slow cutting speeds, inconsistent slice thickness, lack of a support for the specimen and the presence of chatter marks on the sliced specimen, that leave the vibratome lacking as a fully efficient microtome. A microtome is desired that will uniformly slice specimen at a specific thickness without imparting chatter marks on the slices. The microtome should not only securely hold, but also steadily support the specimen. Thus, a microtome solving the aforementioned problems is desired.